'Painting can be a forcefield, a place with edges, finitude—even if what plays out within its borders is a kind of absurd, stutteringchaos. For Brent Harris, painting is a place to frame and momentarilycircumscribe shifting psychological states and philosophical questionsthat threaten to overwhelm us at times. This is why their forms areinexhaustible, always requiring recombination, reassessment, anotherpainting. Harris chose the exhibition title Monkey Business (with its allusions to playful, mischievous, or even inappropriate behaviour) asan umbrella term that encapsulates divergent subject matter, allowingfor more ambiguity and multiplicity of meaning than in some of hisearlier series, such as a recent reworking of the orderly narrative ofthe fourteen Stations of the Cross.'
– Helen Hughes, from the Monkey Business catalogue essay, 2022. Senior Lecturer, Art History, Theory and Curatorship, Monash University
Brent Harris' paintings and works on paper are brooding, dripping swamplands delineated in the most meticulous way. Stark planes, often black and white, belie the swooping organic gestures and expressionist shapes.
Tolarno Galleries has been at the cutting edge of contemporary Australian art for many years. Four artists have represented Australia at the Venice Biennale and the exhibition program attracts the attention of collectors, curators and critics from around the globe.
